Random Nutrition Tips

I have probably stated this before, but I am pretty much a fitness nerd.  I can't read for pleasure anymore.  If I am going to read or listen to an audio book it has to be health related.  I do find pleasure in learning, but things change so often I need to do my best to stay on top of the latest research so I can provide the best service to my clients.

This week I was reading through the latest edition of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition and came across a few good studies that I thought would be interesting for most people to hear about.  They aren't really related to each other, hence the title of this blog, Random Nutrition Tips.  While I would never put all my stock in just one study, it is worth interpreting the results and experiment on your own.
Here we go:

1.  Looking for a performance edge?

This study found that oral supplementation of Magnesium in elder women improved physical performance.  The main note that should be made here is that magnesium deficiency is associated with poor physical performance.  In this study those that had an intake below the RDA of magnesium, before the supplement, saw the best improvement.  This is probably true with 99% of the supplements out there.  If you are deficient in something you will see an improvement with supplements.  If you are not you probably won't.  So you can take the supplement, but really try and find foods high in the nutrients you are missing.  In this case try incorporating more dark leafy greens like spinach, brazil nuts, pumpkin seeds, brown rice, and avocados.

2.  Another reason to stop drinking soda.

Hopefully you are not drinking much soda for a variety of reasons.  But for postmenopausal women,

listen up closely.  This study found that for all types of sodas (regular, diet, caffeine free, non cola...) there is a significant increase risk of hip fractures.  There is already evidence that soda has a negative effect on bone health in children.  Looks like it may not be much better for adults either.

3.  Limit process read meat consumption.

There were actually two studies released in this issue on processed vs unprocessed red meat.  The first showed that those who consumed 5 or more servings a week had a 17% high rate of high blood pressure vs. those who consumed 1 or less.  There was no difference in blood pressure with those that consumed 5 or more or 1 or less of unprocessed red meet.

Also, those that consumed high amounts of processed red meet where associated with a shorter life span.  Consumption of non processed red meat was not associated with a shorter life span.

Unfortunately I was only to read the abstracts for these articles and can't be sure what they mean exactly by processed and unprocessed.  I'm assuming they mean organic, GMO, and grass fed beef though.

4.  Why you hit plateaus.

And finally, this last study looked at a possible reason why we hit early weight loss plateaus.  While I think there are a variety of reasons you would hit one, here is a good explanation.  Many people associated a plateau due to a slowed metabolism as a result of calorie reduction.  This can be true and may slow down weight loss for some.  According to this study, they found that a more likely cause is lower dietary adherence.  This just makes sense.  It is easy to stick with a diet when you first start and you usually see good results.  Then you slack and start to cheat, but expect the same results you were seeing before.  It just won't happen.

Well there are some random tips for you to work on.  Good luck and feel free to comment.

You Stay Healthy San Diego,

Mike Deibler MS, CSCS
San Diego Premier Training